U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo Announces Finalists for $1 Billion “Build Back Better Regional Challenge”
60 Regional Coalitions will Each Compete for up to
$100 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding to Rebuild America’s Communities
WASHINGTON – U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo today announced the 60 finalists for the
U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) $1 billion “Build Back Better
Regional Challenge” – the marquee of EDA’s American Rescue
Plan programs – that aims to boost economic pandemic recovery and
rebuild American communities, including some that have been grappling with
decades of disinvestment. The Build Back Better Regional Challenge provides
transformative investments – up to $100 million per grantee – to develop and
strengthen regional industry clusters across the country, all while embracing
economic equity, creating good-paying jobs, and enhancing U.S. competitiveness
globally.
The 60 finalists
– each a coalition of partnering entities – have proposed projects that will
develop or scale industry sectors, develop and train the workforce of today,
and build resilient economies. Finalists will now compete for Phase 2 of the
Challenge, which will award 20-30 regional coalitions up to $100 million to
implement 3-8 projects that support an industry sector. The deadline for Phase
2 is March 15, 2022.
Today’s finalists, chosen from a pool of 529
applicants, will each receive a grant of approximately $500,000 to
further develop their proposed projects. These grants will help the finalists
take their projects to the next level and position those who ultimately do not
receive Phase 2 implementation awards to find new partners and sources of
funding. The program has already catalyzed new partnerships and creative
approaches to regional economic development.
“The Build Back Better Regional Challenge
aims to supercharge local economies and increase American competitiveness
around the globe,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo.
“The outpouring of interest in this program shows the demand for the Build Back
Better agenda and the desire to not only create good-paying jobs, but also
strengthen our country’s economic resiliency for years down the road.”
“We are thrilled to help communities work
together—in coalitions of government, nonprofits, academia, the private sector,
and others—to craft ambitious and regionally unique plans to rebuild their
communities,” said Alejandra Y. Castillo, Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “These projects will
help revitalize local economies and tackle our biggest challenges related to
climate change, manufacturing, supply chains and more. EDA is proud to ignite
these plans and help communities nationwide build back better.”
Finalists’ projects span 45 states and
Puerto Rico. Twelve finalists are in coal communities, to which EDA has
dedicated $100 million of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge funds as
part of its Coal Communities
Commitment. Overall, EDA will allocate $300 million of its $3
billion American Rescue Plan appropriation to support coal communities as they
recover from the pandemic to help create new jobs and opportunities, including
through the creation or expansion of a new industry sector.
Projects represent industry sectors that
are unique to each region, including advanced manufacturing; aerospace and
defense; agriculture and natural resources; biotechnology and biomanufacturing;
energy and resilience; health care and digital health; information technology;
transportation; construction and logistics; and water and blue economy.
For more information, please visit our
fact sheet.
The coalition lead for each finalist is
listed below. (Project summaries
available via hyperlinks.)
- Alameda County Waste Management Authority
- Albuquerque
Hispano Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity
- Central New Mexico Community College
- Central Valley Community Foundation
- City of Indianapolis
- City of Manchester
- City of Newark
- City of Tucson
- Coalfield Development
- County of Hawaii
- Departamento
de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio de Puerto Rico
- Detroit Regional Partnership Foundation
- Empire State Development
- Four Bands Community Fund
- Georgia Tech Research Corporations
- Greater New Orleans Development Foundation
- Greater Phoenix Economic Council
- Greater St. Louis, Inc.
- Hopi Utilities Corporation
- Howard County Economic Development Authority
- Indian Nations Council of Governments
- Innosphere Venture
- Invest Nebraska Corporation
- Kentucky
Education and Workforce Development Cabinet
- Lamar State College - Port Arthur
- Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance
- Los Angeles
County Economic Development Corporation
- Louisville Healthcare CEO Council
- MAGNET:
Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network
- mHUB
- Minneapolis
Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership
- New Orleans BioInnovation Center
- North Carolina Biotechnology Center
- Northeastern University
- Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation
- Osceola County Board of County Commissioners
- Pala Band of Mission Indians
- Pennsylvania
Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.
- Piedmont Triad Regional Council
- Port of Portland
- Southeast Conference
- Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region
- Southwestern
Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative
- Spruce Root
- The Research
Foundation for the State University of New York
- The University of Alabama
- The University of Southern Mississippi
- The University of Texas at El Paso
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- University of Maine System
- University of Memphis
- URI Research Foundation
- Utah Office of Energy Development
- Virginia
Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority
- Virginia Tech
- Washington Maritime Blue
- West Virginia Department of Economic Development
- Wichita State University
- Wisconsin Paper Council
The “Build Back Better Regional Challenge”
is one of EDA’s many programs aimed at building strong regional economies and
supporting community-led economic development. EDA was allocated $3 billion in
supplemental funding under the American Rescue Plan to assist communities
nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating economic recovery
from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be
resilient to future economic shocks. For more information about EDA’s American
Rescue Plan programs, visit https://www.eda.gov/ARPA/.
